Pigs can't fly by Shyam Silvadurai

To my parents, 

Christine and David Selvadurai,

for believing that pigs can fly.

Introduction
Shyam Selvadurai is a Sri Lankan Canadian novelist who wrote Funny Boy, which won the Books in Canada First Novel Award.In 2013 Shyam's Funny Boy was included in the syllabus under marginalized study and gay literature of the under graduation English Department of The American College in Madura.In 2014, Shyam was presented the Bonham Centre Award from The Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto, for his contributions to the advancement and education of issues around sexual identification.
Through his readings we learn more about gender, sexuality, behavior structure, transgender, lesbian, gay, cross- dressing, homo/heterosexuality etc.
Funny boy was written in 1994.
This story is in flashback, it's a non- autobiographical(fictional set up) and emphasizes on sexual inequalities.

My point of view
Family politics, sexual issues,biased sexual abnormalities, innocence of childhood are the main topics that have been raised. Society as a system has been questioned up on. Acceptance of the different or the unexpected in a society. And good parenting has been questioned.
Its a first person narration but must not be confused with autobiography. Its a story of transition of a child into an adult.
Arjie(Arjun), the narrator, our protagonist, a seven year old young kid, has a great inclination towards girls' games and fascination towards dressing up like a beautiful lady. He has the idea of a bride as a graceful, benevolent, perfect being upon whom the adoring eyes of the world rested. He could not comprehend the fun of standing in the sweltering sun and running around in the field sweating, like the other boys did.
The story starts by introducing (us) the reader to  -spend-the-day- concept of holiday which occurred once in a month to the characters of the story. The kids were sent off to the grandparents' and the adults went off to enjoyably spent their recreation day.
It has been mentioned that the narrator is a migrant from Sri Lanka because of the communal violence and has then settled in Canada. The story however is set in the early years, that is in Sri Lanka.
The kids were divided into two groups, largely boys and girls. The narrator however was the part of the girls' team. The coming of Tanuja and her parents (relatives from abroad), has been called revolting by the narrator. Initially the hierarchy of the girls' game where Arjie was at the top was not disturbed. But as Arjie's instinct says and the actions and reactions explain, Tanuja's parents had an underline meanness due to their own personal reasons. Not too late, Arjie was humiliated in front of the whole family one evening, by them, mostly as a revenge of not treating their daughter as the princess. Arjie's father reacted in a protective and worried manner, by protective I do not mean he supported his child, but 'protected' the kid from getting 'spoiled' further. He blamed the mother and the mother unwillingly did as she was 'suppose to'. She forced Arjie to be who he was not and do what he was unwilling to.
(Above single quoted words are a mockery to the society in the story)
The whole scenario indeed, hurt Arjie in an unknown manner. Something changed forever in him, but he was not very sure what. The not-completely-understood insult, the laughter of the elders, the domination by "Her fatness"(Tanuja), the disapproval from the father, the abandonment and change in relationship with the mother, not just confused Arjie but left him feeling like a misfit. The story then briefly explains the realization by Arjie about his abnormality and his acceptance towards the fact that that was the instant which had left the life at a point when everything could not be expected to be same again or ever again. This was again his instinct and his faith in his instinct was pointed over and over again.
Meena was the foil(adding irony through another character) in the story which led to bias behavior even in sexual abnormalities. Chelva, the father was the eldest son, which added on to the family politics. The Sari that Arjie carried and wore for the game played a crucial role and Arjie's sister was shown as a constant emotional support to Arjie.
Now do I really need to ask questions, for the writer has given them all, right on our faces. All I can ask is, after all, who decides what?

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